Below is a sneak peek from my time with Jones fam. This shoot was so much fun for me, for several reasons. First of all, I had 3 girls (two teenage) who weren't into having photos taken and felt totally awkward in front of the camera. *Queue Ricky Bobby "I'm not sure what to do with my hands" Then there was awesome Mr Jones, one of his girls wants to go to school for Photography and, well, become a photographer. That scared the crap out of him, he had spent lots of time googling facts on how much money the average photographer made and wasn't thrilled with the results.
Let me start by saying, I love it when my subjects feel awkward, and I actually try and make this happen at least once. Why on earth would I want that to happen? Well, there's honesty in awkardness, a funny thing happens, the moment we feel awkward and we're in the spotlight a little curtain is pulled back where the essence of oneself tends to shine through and then it is often followed by beautiful genuine smiles and laughter. 9 times of 10 it's the winning shot, the one the family absolutely loves and wants to hang on the wall, because it can't be replicated. It was a rare genuine moment where that little thing, that sparkle, that makes this person who they are, and what you love about them but have a hard time putting in to words, and it has shone through and was captured for you to keep forever. It also is a great ice breaker, one the girls started to feel silly they opened up with me more and began to feel more comfortable with me.
My conversation with Mr Jones, regarding his daughters passion and the realities of making a living in this industry is a whole other blog in itself, so stayed tuned for that because we had a really great talk.
